Coaches poll: Notre Dame leads pack of SEC teams

Nov. 25, 2012
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Quarterback Everett Golson and the rest of the Notre Dame Irish now await an opponent, probably the winner of Saturday's game between Alabama and Georgia, for the BCS title game Jan. 7. / Matt Cashore, US PRESSWIRE

by Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY Sports

by Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY Sports

There aren't many fan bases who have loftier expectations for their team than Notre Dame's. But even the most optimistic Fighting Irish follower would have had a hard time imagining the ride this season has been.

Notre Dame retained the No.1 spot in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll after a 22-13 win at archrival Southern California, finishing its regular season 12-0 and all but assured of a place in the BCS national championship game. The Fighting Irish received 56 of 59 No. 1 votes, rising all the way from a No. 24 ranking in the preseason poll. That starting position was a spot lower than Auburn's No. 23 preseason opening two years ago and is now the lowest starting position for a BCS finalist under the current championship format.

The Fighting Irish will almost certainly be facing the winner of next week's Southeastern Conference title game between No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Georgia. The Crimson Tide easily punched their ticket with a 49-0 drubbing of Auburn in the Iron Bowl and grabbed two No.1 votes. Georgia, also an easy winner in its non-conference rivalry finale against Georgia Tech, claimed the other top vote.

Oregon and Florida round out the top five after concluding their regular seasons with victories against their in-state rivals. Both the Ducks and Gators were edged out of their conference championship games by Stanford and Georgia, respectively, but are near locks to receive at-large BCS bowl invitations.

No.6 LSU, No. 8 Texas A&M and No. 10 South Carolina give the SEC a total of six teams in the top 10. No. 7 Kansas State and No. 9 Stanford fill out the second quintile. The Wildcats will win the Big 12 championship outright with a victory next Saturday against No. 21 Texas, while the Cardinal will take on No. 16 UCLA for a second consecutive week for the Pac-12 title and Rose Bowl berth.

Western Athletic Conference champion Utah State heads into the bowl season with a No. 22 ranking, its first appearance in the coaches poll this season. The Aggies have accepted an invitation to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise. No. 20 Northwestern also bounced back in. The week's dropouts were Oklahoma State, which lost in overtime to No. 11 Oklahoma, and Mississippi State, also losing a rivalry game on the road at Ole Miss.